The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American rock band, formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California. The group was initially composed of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Managed by the Wilsons' father Murry, The Beach Boys signed to Capitol Records in 1962. The band's early music gained popularity across the United States for its close vocal harmonies and lyrics reflecting a Southern California youth culture of surfing, cars, and romance. By the mid 1960s, Brian Wilson's growing creative ambition and songwriting ability would dominate the group's musical direction. The primarily Wilson-composed Pet Sounds album and "Good Vibrations" single (both released in 1966) featured a complex, intricate and multi-layered sound that was a far cry from the simple surf rock of The Beach Boys' early years. However, Wilson would soon lose control of the band because of mental-health and substance-abuse issues. Subsequently, although they released a number of popular albums (in various musical styles, with different line-ups) in ensuing years, the group never managed to reclaim its mid-'60s peak when The Beach Boys briefly challenged The Beatles both in terms of commercial and critical appeal. Since the 1980s, there has been much legal-wrangling among the group members over royalties, songwriting credits, and use of the band's name. While The Beach Boys released their last studio album in 1996, a number of versions of the band, each fronted by a surviving member of the original quintet (Dennis and Carl Wilson died in 1983 and 1998, respectively), continue to tour. The Beach Boys have often been called "America's Band" and Allmusic has stated that "the band's unerring ability... made them America's first, best rock band." The group has had 36 United States Top 40 hits (the most by an American rock band) and 56 Hot 100 hits, including four number-one singles. Rolling Stone magazine listed The Beach Boys at number 12 on their 2004 list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". The core quintet of the three Wilsons, Love and Jardine was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988. Band Biography The Beach Boys were the project primarily of Brian Wilson and his brothers, cousin (Mike Love) and family friend (Al Jardine), along with his father who initally managed the group (though he was abusive and was the source for songs like "In My Room". Brian Wilson's mental state being as it was, he stopped touring with the band in 1965, and decided to work solely in the studio, being one of the first to use the studio like an instrument. The culmination of this was the unreleased Smile album, intended to be the follow up to Pet Sounds. After the collapse of Smile, his control over the band faded and Mike Love took more of a leading role (though Brian Wilson still had more of a say than people think). In the 1980s, the band collapsed a bit with the deaths of two of the Wilson brothers, and Brian and Al leaving the group, Mike Love was left to put together a touring band of session musicians to continue making money off the group's name and sue the other Beach Boys (Al Jardine for using "of The Beach Boys" to advertise his shows and Brian Wilson for using the Beach Boys name to promote his recently completed Smile). Discography Albums *''Surfin' Safari'' *''Surfin' USA'' *''Surfer Girl'' *''Little Deuce Coupe'' *''Shut Down Volume 2'' *''All Summer Long'' *''The Beach Boys' Christmas Album'' *''Today!'' *''Summer Days (and Summer Nights!!)'' *''Beach Boys' Party!'' *''Pet Sounds'' *''Smiley Smile'' *''Wild Honey'' *''Friends'' *''20/20'' *''Sunflower'' *''Surf's Up'' *''Carl and the Passions - So Tough'' *''Holland'' *''15 Big Ones'' *''Love You'' *''M.I.U. Album'' *''L.A. (Light Album)'' *''Keepin' The Summer Alive'' *''The Beach Boys'' *''Still Cruisin''' *''Summer in Paradise'' *''Stars and Stripes Vol. 1'' EPs * Four By The Beach Boys Singles Appears On Compilations Soundtracks * Americathon * American Graffiti * 50 First Dates Mix CDs * Dub Club: Aila's Dub Club Mix * Aila's Mp3 Of The Week *Dub Club V: The Final Frontier - Aila * Plastic Music Exchange 2006 - Rev. DOG. * Plastic Music Exchange 2006 - Djerrid * Aila's Mp3 Of The Week * Dub Club: Erik Blood Disc 1 (Rain) * Dub Club: John - Faded Summer * Dub Club: I'm Singing For You All Covered In Sequins - Matt Radio Shows * Blue Jam Series 1 Episode 4 Further Reading * Cabin Essence - A great Brian Wilson fan site. Includes lyrics, chords and more. * Wikipedia page on The Beach Boys * Death of Dennis Wilson Category:American rock music groups Category:Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Category:Capitol Records artists Category:Musical groups established in 1961 Category:Psychedelic rock groups Category:Reprise Records artists Category:Male singers Category:Musical groups from California Category:Pop group Category:Musical quintets Category:Columbia Records artists Category:The Beach Boys